[toggle title=”Grant Recipient Spotlight: Adam”]
[tabs tab1=”The Client” tab2=”The Crisis” tab3=”The Grant” count=”3″]
[tab_first]The Client
Adam is a young adult working full-time as a truck driver, making about $1500 per month. Adam has struggled to find and sustain housing because of his lower income, especially because he has to make his dollars stretch to cover rent and all of the other necessities, including the insurance that he’s required to pay every month as part of his employment. Adam had been living in his cousin’s home for over six months, where he slept on the couch in the living room and paid about $500 of rent per month just to have a roof over his head. However, this arrangement was not ideal since Adam was not on the lease and there were already multiple adults staying in the unit, making the apartment very over-crowded.
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[tab]The Crisis
During his time at his cousin’s, Adam continued to look for more suitable housing that fit within his tight budget and applied for an affordable studio in San Jose. To Adam’s surprise, he was notified that he had been approved for an immediate move-in to his own studio apartment, though he had just ten days to pay the move-in costs to reserve the unit or forfeit the opportunity and land back on the waiting list. Adam panicked, as not only does he struggle with a limited income, but he had also lost three days of work at the beginning of February due to a back injury so severe that he had to seek emergency medical care. Because his employer does not provide paid time off, Adam now faced the reality that — between his already low hourly wage and three days of missed wages — the $1,598 of move-in expenses required to move into the studio would be impossible to cover on his own. The thought of missing the opportunity to finally achieve stable, affordable housing weighed heavily on Adam, so he reached out to one of HIF’s partner agencies.
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[tab]The Grant
Adam’s caseworker helped him apply for a grant through HIF, and since Adam could demonstrate his ability to cover all of his monthly housing costs from this point forward, he was awarded a grant from HIF in the amount of $1000. Adam was able to pull together the remaining $598 of owed move-in costs and moved into his new studio immediately.[/tab]
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[toggle title=”Grant Recipient Spotlight: Ben”]
[tabs tab1=”The Client” tab2=”The Crisis” tab3=”The Grant” count=”3″]
[tab_first] The Client
Ben is veteran who lives with his wife and three children in a unit they’ve rented for over three years. Ben’s wife works part-time at a restaurant and Ben had full-time employment until the middle of January, when he developed symptoms of PTSD related to his service in the military.[/tab_first]
[tab] The Crisis
Ben was approved for temporary disability payments to allow him time to seek treatment and get back on his feet, but an administrative delay caused a delay in the family receiving any benefits. Because of the delay, the household was forced to try to cover all of the family’s basic expenses on just the wife’s income from her part-time employment for the month of February. The family was just not able to make her earnings stretch, and their rent for February became past-due with still no sign of the disability benefits arriving. [/tab]
[tab]The Grant
Ben sought the support of an HIF partner agency on the VA Campus in Menlo Park, who helped him apply for a grant through HIF. Because Ben and his family showed that they could cover all of their housing costs as soon as the temporary disability payments were received by the end of February (as well as every month from that point forward), the household was a good fit for HIF funding. HIF covered the majority of the family’s February rent (Ben and his wife were able to cover the remaining $350) and prevented this veteran and his family from becoming homeless.[/tab]
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[toggle title=”Grant Recipient Spotlight: Carol and Dave”]
[tabs tab1=”The Client” tab2=”The Crisis” tab3=”The Grant” tab4=”The Impact” count=”4″]
[tab_first]The Family
Carol and Dave are married and have a school-age son. Carol lost her job and the couple had to rely on Dave’s income as a grocery store clerk and Carol’s small unemployment benefits to pay all of the household expenses. They quickly fell behind on their bills.[/tab_first]
[tab] The Crisis
Carol and Dave tried several times to catch up on their past-due PG&E bill, but each month brought unanticipated expenses. In April, Carol nearly wrecked her car because her tires had become so bald, necessitating spending nearly $300 on car repairs to make her vehicle safe to drive. The following month, the household received a substantial bill for a new medication that Dave needed, again diverting money away from the small savings they were setting aside to pay other bills. When they received a notice from PG&E that the utilities would be turned off without immediate payment, Carol and Dave. Dave has sleep apnea, requiring him to wear an electric breathing machine while he sleeps. Without electricity, Dave would have to go without this potentially life-saving device.[/tab]
[tab]The Grant
HIF covered the household’s outstanding balance with PG&E of nearly $450 to ensure that their utilities remained on and they could begin to catch up with their household bills despite a turbulent few months.[/tab]
[tab]The Impact
After the grant was received, life began looking up for this family. Carol found well-paying, stable employment and they have not needed any supportive services since receiving this grant. They’re still living in the same home and are even able to set aside some savings every month to plan for future emergencies.[/tab]
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[toggle title=”Grant Recipient Spotlight: Ellen”]
[tabs tab1=”The Client” tab2=”The Crisis” tab3=”The Grant” tab4=”The Impact” count=”4″]
The Client
[tab_first]Ellen is a senior citizen who lived alone in an apartment in San Jose. Her local family included her only daughter and a grandson.[/tab_first]
[tab]The Crisis
Ellen’s daughter passed away unexpectedly in May. Despite her limited income, Ellen managed to give her daughter a respectable burial while also assuming full custody of her daughter’s only child, a 10-year-old boy. Between both the funeral expenses and the financial burden of now caring for a school-age child, Ellen fell behind on her rent in both May and June. Ellen works several part-time positions to make ends meet and was working with her employer to increase her hours to make the small household more financially stable, but she couldn’t increase her income quickly enough to make up for the unanticipated funeral costs and increased living expenses.[/tab]
[tab]The Grant
When Ellen realized that she was not going to be able to fully catch up with rent and that both she and her grandchild were at risk of becoming homeless, she made an appointment with the case managers at InnVision’s Georgia Travis Center. The staff immediately connected her to several programs that would support her and her grandson during this tough time, including an application for emergency rental assistance through HIF. She was a good candidate for a grant through HIF because she demonstrated the ability to meet all of her future household expenses.[/tab]
[tab]The Impact
With a grant of $1000, HIF paid a portion of both May and June’s rent to bring the household current on their housing costs. Ellen is working to gain full legal custody of her grandchild and plans on continuing to live with him in the unit that she’s resided in for four years.
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[toggle title=”Grant Recipient Spotlight: Frank”]
[tabs tab1=”The Client” tab2=”The Crisis” tab3=”The Grant” tab4=”The Impact” count=”4″]
The Client
[tab_first]Frank is 72 years old and lived in Monterey until November of 2012 prior to relocating to San Jose. Frank’s only source of income is $789/month from Social Security. He is the recipient of a Section 8 voucher, which allows him to pay just under $300 for rent each month.[/tab_first]
[tab]The Crisis
This fall Frank’s health began to fail. His only local family was a daughter in San Jose, so he knew that relocating from Monterey to San Jose to be near his daughter was in his best interest to ensure that, if his health got worse, he’d have someone who could help him meet his basic needs or deal with medical emergencies. He began the process of negotiating the transfer of his Section 8 voucher to Santa Clara County and was finally approved for the move in November. However, the return of his small deposit that he put down on his previous unit (just $200) wasn’t enough to cover the large deposit of near $1300 required on his new unit in San Jose. Though Section 8 vouchers cover a portion of rent, the vouchers do not subsidize security deposits. Frank negotiated with his future landlord, who agreed to let Frank move in after he paid the $200 that he collected during his move-out from Monterey as long as Frank made payments every month until the remaining $1,095 was paid off. With just a few dollars left in his budget every month after covering his food, bus passes, utilities, and pay-as-you-go cell phone, Frank knew that he’d only be able to put a small amount towards his past-due deposit every month. After just one month into the informal payment agreement, his landlord grew impatient and issued Frank a 3-Day Notice to provide the remaining $1000 or he would begin the eviction proceedings.[/tab]
[tab]The Grant
Frank, who has a history of homelessness, became very worried about losing his housing and his daughter did not have the resources to cover her father’s owed amount. Frank sought support through the Salvation Army in San Jose, where a caseworker helped him apply for an HIF grant for $1000 that would cover his remaining balance on his past-due deposit.[/tab]
[tab]The Impact
This grant brought Frank completely current on all of his housing costs and ensured that this senior citizen remains stably housed despite his very limited income. Frank writes: “Thank you so much for your help in paying my security deposit for my apartment; without this help I may have well been homeless again. I so appreciate the fact you provided both compassion and resources in these hard times for people in need. A house is not just a roof over one’s head but is a new beginning, a new place to build memories and families – words don’t adequately express my thanks.”
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[toggle title=”Grant Recipient Spotlight: Gerald”]
[tabs tab1=”The Client” tab2=”The Crisis” tab3=”The Grant” tab4=”The Impact” count=”4″]
The Client
[tab_first]Gerald is a disabled veteran who will turn 65 this March. He makes ends meet through a small VA benefit of $419/month and supplements his income through working as a handyman. This side job brings in about $80 a month. With the help of food stamps and local food pantries, Gerald is able to stretch his income to cover his monthly rent of $450 for the room in East Palo Alto that he’s rented for ten years as well as meet all of his other basic needs, though he has very little left every month and has no savings. He also takes odd jobs, like dishwashing, when they’re available.[/tab_first]
[tab]The Crisis
Last fall, there was an administrative hold-up that delayed the arrival of Gerald’s $450 for one month. Around the same time, Gerald’s friend needed less hours of handyman work, setting Gerald back during the months of October, November, and December, and greatly impacting his tenuous financial position. Gerald fell behind in paying rent, both because of the delayed arrival of his benefits and the reduced income from his side job. By January, his benefits had arrived and he had resumed his normal hours as a handyman, yet he still owed back rent from November and December. His landlord had exercised patience because of Gerald’s longtime tenancy, but eventually issued Gerald a 3-Day Notice on December 26th in an effort to collect the $900 in back rent. [/tab]
[tab]The Grant
Gerald visited Next Step Veterans Resource Center on the grounds of the VA in Menlo Park, where he met with a caseworker who’s been trained to apply on behalf of clients to HIF’s Emergency Housing Fund grant program. The caseworker helped Gerald request $900 to cover all of his owed rent, since Gerald’s financial position is one that he lives month to month, and has no resources to cover his past-due amount. The caseworker also helped Gerald research whether he is eligible for any other benefits and may be able to help him apply for additional long-term financial assistance.[/tab]
[tab]The Impact
Without this assistance, Gerald would not have the ability to ever fully catch up on his past-due rent. His “month to month” financial situation means that one small hiccup – like a delay in receiving his VA benefits – could mean homelessness. With a grant through HIF, this veteran remained stably housed despite his very low income.
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